Today is National Doughnut Day

Prepare to see a lot of pictures with Krispy Kreme doughnuts and their sign taking over Twitter and Facebook today. In honor of National Doughnut Day, Krispy Kreme is offering a free doughnut to customers. No purchase is necessary. All they ask is that this promotion invade Twitter and Facebook with the hashtag #KrispyKreme. Once you've picked up your free doughnut, they'd like you to take a picture of yourself at their establishments with your favorite doughnut then post it to Twitter and/or Facebook. What a sweet treat or should I say sweet tweet. To monitor their promotion, be sure to follow them at www.Facebook.com/KrispyKreme and www.Twitter.com/krispy_kreme. Enjoy.

New Study Explains Gap Analysis between Techies and Tech Marketers' Usage

UBM TechWeb (www.ubmtechweb.com) just released a social media research study that provides a comprehensive portrait of how technology professionals and technology marketers are using social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and blogs. The study, "Social Media at Work," is the first study of its kind to examine both the usage and preferences of technology decision makers and the activities technology marketers employ to reach them.

The research, which studies the social media consumption habits of 630 technology professional respondents and 350 technology marketing respondents, reveals a gap between the social networks that technology decision makers are most consuming and the networks technology marketers are using to connect with them. "While many technology marketers have established a presence on Facebook and Twitter, many are not taking full advantage of the sites that technology professionals frequent and value most, such as LinkedIn and blogs," said Brandon Friesen, VP and online strategist at UBM TechWeb.

The study also confirms a significant rise in the role social media plays professionally, as it now accounts for an average of 13% of the total time that technology professionals spend consuming media for work purposes. While this is a substantial lift from a study conducted on IT professionals just two years ago, study results also point to the importance of using social media in combination with a fully integrated communications strategy.

Research Highlights:

-- Technology professionals (CIOs, IT VP/Directors, IT Managers,
Line-of-business management, etc.)
-- Social media is ranked fourth out of eleven in terms of time
investment devoted to information sources; technology B2B web
sites were #1.
-- Four in ten respondents plan to increase the amount of time they
spend with social media.
-- LinkedIn and blogs were ranked as the top two most used for
business purposes.
-- Almost 60% use social networks to get information about technology
purchases.

-- Technology marketers (CMO/SVP/VP Marketing, Directors, Managers, Media
Management, etc.)
-- Technology organizations are increasing marketing spend for social
media outlets over the next 12 months.
-- While most have not used social media to deliver a marketing ROI,
one-third will be tasked to do so in 2010.
-- Facebook and Twitter were ranked as the top two most influential
sites.
-- Corporate blogs may be more influential than marketers believe.

"Understanding the technology decision-making audiences' motivations and behaviors when it comes to social media is exceptionally critical - especially at this stage where marketers are still feeling their way when it comes to social networking," said Scott Vaughan, VP Marketing, UBM TechWeb. ''Social media allows you to get a market pulse and truly listen to what your customers and prospects are saying, driving both short and longer term go-to-market strategy."

For related perspective and insight, visit www.createyournextcustomer.com, UBM TechWeb's site for technology marketers.

In Honor of Mother's Day, Groupable, Inc. Names Most Influential Moms Groups; Work It Mom Leads Top 100 List

Groupable, a leading social media platform that enables brand advertisers to connect with targeted communities, today announced its list of the most active and influential moms groups. Its Top 100 list ranks moms groups who are among the most engaged within their socio-demographic target and who have the greatest potential to influence buying decisions.
Based on a proprietary Groupability Index, influence ratings take into account Groupable's sponsorship activity data as well as activity from a variety of social media data points including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Klout Score, blogs, and podcasts. The index rating is calculated based upon aggregate scores in the following categories: authenticity, engagement and relevance.

According to Nate Brochin, Groupable CEO, "Moms Groups represent the most passionate part of a very influential consumer segment. This list shows that influence is more than just Twitter followers. Brands can use Groupable's ratings as a filter to find groups that will be both responsive to marketing initiatives as well as influential in spreading the word of these brand experiences."

The following are Groupable's Top 10 out of the 100 most socially influential moms groups*:

Brochin notes that a group's collective influence and ability to spread a message can reach a much wider audience as compared to that of an individual. "It's about knowing which groups to engage with so as to maximize word-of-mouth equity," Brochin says. "The Groupability Index provides marketers with a single reference point that captures a group's ultimate influence potential."

For a complete list of the Top 100 Most Influential Moms, email Groupable at info@groupable.com or for more Top 5 Influential group lists, go to http://influence.groupable.com/.

Flash Mobs

How cool is this. Do you know what a flash mob is? It's basically a covert meeting planned by a group of people to meet in a public place and do something simultaneously. I've seen flash mobs consisting of college kids converging on a parking lot in order to make a statement or to just do something rowdy and spontaneous.

Apparently, with the craze and excitement of the show, Glee, fans are planning flash mobs all over the world. In fact, if you performed a search of "glee flash mob" on Youtube, you'll find a handful of videos, capturing these stunts. Today, I came across one that was performed in Seattle. I'm sure it had something to do with the fact that the new season is returning.

It's hard to watch this stunt, which had more than 800 people, without wanting to dance and wishing that you'd been there to witness it. Check it out.

Identifying Brand Ambassadors on YouTube

One of the publicized benefits of social media for businesses is creating brand evangelists or ambassadors. However, depending on your business, you may not have to create these people or find a platform for them to congregate in order to create an affordable campaign. Just the other day, I happened to be looking for a certain type of footage on Youtube and was fascinated to discover how many “how-to” videos had been uploaded on the same topic. There were thousands and these were mostly uploaded by fans that hadn’t been paid to promote a particular brand or product.

I’ll use the hair industry to demonstrate my point. If you use search terms like wig or weave or extensions, along with the word hair, you’ll find pages of videos, both professional and amateur. Ironically, the majority of the video uploads are from amateur fans of a particular brand showing their viewers how they use the product. Some of these Youtube users have taken time to review every single product in a line. I was really amazed because it was obvious that they weren’t contracted by the company that they were endorsing, yet they had tens of thousand more views then the handful of professional company videos.

This got me to thinking. Instead of spending a ridiculous percentage of marketing budgets to hire a model, some of these companies should pick a few of these loyal customers to gift their products to along with decent camera equipment. Since most of the Youtube users were already uploading video for a hobby, most would love to be brand ambassadors. What female wouldn’t like free product of their favorite line if all they had to do was record a 5 minute video demonstration and review.

My suggestion to business owners is instead of creating separate websites with social networks to pull fans away from the most popular ones, allow the loyal customers to continue using the network that garnered the most attention and following. Use widgets to embed the most popular footage and user information onto the business’ website. Contact the Youtube users and propose an arrangement that would benefit both parties. Create campaigns and contests that the Youtube user can promote to their followers, who share the same common interest.

Think about it. Some of the most memorable advertising campaigns featured everyday people talking about the benefits of a product. Just ask Jerod, the famous spokesperson for Subway.

Below is a video by Youtube user, bunny101010, demonstrating how to use the CHI flat iron. The video has over 1.3 views.